Lead Paint And Autism???

I was on Rosie O'Donnell's blog and she had a video entry where she was answering questions. Someone asked the question (paraphrased), "Do you think the lead paint on toys has anthing to do with autism?"

There has been quite a bit of discussion on the causes of autism and why there seems to be an explosion of cases in our youngsters. Some think it is related to the vaccinations given to children. I don't have children so I don't know what shots are given to today's kids but it seems to me that the percentages would be about the same over the decades, not a spike.

My theory, as unscientific as it may be, is that the spike is environmental. And, to be honest, it's the first thing I thought of when I read the stories on the toys with lead in their paint. It's one reason why I've written a couple of stern posts in the past week regarding product safety coming out of China.

Remember when there was the scare of chemicals used in the base ingredients of pet food that came out of China? The first thing I thought was not only about the pets, but where else such chemicals could be found, like baby food. Or the soy in baby formula. Most ingredients for vitamins come from China. Could there be bad stuff in the vitamins pregnant women are encouraged to take?

I haven't written on this before because I think it makes me sound a bit like a conspiracy theorist or a wing nut. While that may be true, actually, I don't want my readers to think it! But since someone else thought about it enough to write in to Rosie, I don't feel so alone. So now I'm a part of a group of at least two that is thinking along this path.
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